Thor’s Hammer wins End of Season Cup in tight finish

Doha, Qatar: Thor’s Hammer edged past stablemate Aemilianus after a prolonged duel, prevailing by a head to win the End of Season Cup at Al Rayyan Racecourse yesterday.

It proved a fitting finale to the season, with Thor’s Hammer, ridden by Alberto Sanna, going stride for stride with stablemate Aemilianus, partnered by Marco Casamento. Trained by Gassim Al Ghazali, the pair produced a thrilling contest in the 1600m Thoroughbreds feature, before the five-year-old gelding ultimately prevailed for owners Al Rufaa Racing.

The season-ending meeting comprised 10 races, including three Cup contests.

Guided by Arnaud de Lepine, Hamad Al-Jehani-trained Lueur De Faust landed the Al Utouriya Cup after a 3/4 length victory in the 1600m Purebred Arabian Open Race. The five-year-old bay mare had already shown quality earlier in the season when she won the Purebred Arabian Guineas on her Qatar debut in November. This latest race marked her second victory from six runs this campaign.

During the race, she was not positioned near the front early on, instead settling towards the back of the field. As the race entered the home straight, she began to move forward gradually, building momentum as she closed in on the leaders. Inside the final 200 metres, she made her decisive move, taking control of the race and going on to win the title.

Spareo secured the Al Karana Cup storming to 2½ lengths victory in the Purebred Arabian Novice under Pierre-Charles Boudot. The grey colt, who impressed on his debut, continued his strong start to his career by winning his second race from as many starts. He took control early, moving to the front soon after the break and dictating the pace throughout the race, ultimately winning comfortably.

Meanwhile, jockey Soufiane Saadi secured two wins yesterday, guiding Brotherhood Of Man (Thoroughbred Handicap 0-90) and Just Bring It (Thoroughbred Handicap 75-95) to victories.

Lukas Delozier partnered Mamoun De Bozouls to win the Purebred Arabian Graduation Plate, while Qiltan took Local Purebred Arabian Maiden Plate honours under Abdulla Rashid Al-Hajri. Selous, ridden by Anas Al Seyabi, topped the Thoroughbred Handicap (60-80).

Casamento steered Jungle Monarch to the Thoroughbred Handicap (70-90) title, while Al Deebil, ridden by Salem Alajmi, won the Local Thoroughbred Handicap (45-70).